Beau, Lee, The Bomb & Me
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- $1.99
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
When Beau transferred to our school. I thought: "Good; fresh meat." Because I knew he would be tormented the entire time he was at Baboon High. Like I am. All day. . .every day.
Growing up is a trip. . .
In high school, there are few worse crimes than being smart or fat. Lucky me, I'm both. But when Beau Gales blows in to town, it takes about two minutes for the jackasses at our Seattle school to figure out he's gay, and that makes him an even bigger target. Have you ever heard the saying: 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'? There's something to that.
When the bullying gets violent and Beau decides to run away to San Francisco to ask his Uncle Frankie for advice, we all go. Beau, me, Leonie (designated class slut), and a scruffy rescue dog called The Bomb--a tribe of misfits crammed into my mom's minivan. Throw in a detour to the Twilight town of Forks, armed robbery, cool record shops, confessions, breakups and makeups, and you have the kind of journey that can change the way you look at the whole world--and yourself.
"A warm, funny, bitterly wise portrayal of the impulsivity and vulnerability of adolescence. If you've been one of the 'weird' kids, if you've felt like nothing and everything all at once, if best-friendship is your medicine and snark is your armor, you'll get it." --Lindy West, writer for jezebel.com
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When a life of being violently bullied becomes unbearable, 16-year-old friends Rusty, Leonie, and Beau load up in Rusty's parents' minivan and leave Seattle for San Francisco, where Beau's gay uncle lives. They are happy to leave "Baboon High" in the dust it's where Rusty was taunted for being overweight, Leonie was slut-shamed by classmates and caught up in a manipulative affair with her English teacher, and Beau was beat up by homophobic bullies. Snarky and bookish, Rusty narrates their quest for solace and acceptance as they travel through small West Coast towns and rescue a stray dog (aka "The Bomb"). McKinley's TV writing and sketch comedy background show in her smart dialogue, and her debut reads like a love letter to the geography of the Northwest. She quickly develops these three outsider characters, exploring how friendships can be forged through common suffering and the role that complacency plays in perpetuating bullying. McKinley puts forth positive messages about being true to oneself and avoiding judging others, though the heavy-handed delivery overwhelms the story at times. Ages 13 up.
